Blur: Last News

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has shared his debut solo single ‘London Bridge’. Check it out below, along with our interview with Rowntree discussing a new record on the way, politics, and what the future holds for Blur.Released on Cooking Vinyl and produced with Leo Abrahams (Wild Beasts, Brian Eno, Ghostpoet) the emotive synth-led track was inspired by the drummer’s childhood growing up in Colchester, before moving to London with Blur.“There was a phase in my life as a child when the number 126 would pop up everywhere,” Rowntree told NME.

Blur‘s Graham Coxon has announced details of his autobiography, Verse, Chorus, Monster!.The memoir is described as “an intimate, honest reflection on music, fame, addiction and art by one of Britain’s most iconic musicians.” It will be published on October 6 this year via Faber.A press release for the book reads: “Among the noise and clamour of the Britpop era, Blur co-founder Graham Coxon managed to carve out a niche to become one of the most innovative and respected guitarists of his generation – but it wasn’t always easy.“Graham grew up as an Army kid, moving frequently in his early years from West Germany to Derbyshire and Winchester before settling in Colchester, Essex. A shy child, he had a thing for eating soil and drawing intense visions; his anxiety was tempered by painting and a growing love of music.”It adds: “These twin passions grew into obsessions, and as he honed his artistic skill at school, Goldsmiths and beyond, his band with school friend Damon Albarn, fellow art student Alex James, and a drummer called Dave Rowntree began to get noticed.“But there are things they don’t tell you before you get famous.

The WAEVE, the new project from Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall, have released their first track in the form of ‘Something Pretty’ – listen below.The Blur guitarist-turned-solo musician and the former Pipettes member-turned-Mark Ronson collaborator announced they’d teamed up to form a duo last month, confirming that music would soon be arriving via Transgressive Records.Last night (May 4), THE WAEVE played an intimate launch show at The Lexington in London and are due to return to the venue for a second headline performance tomorrow (May 6).An image of the setlist from yesterday’s gig showed that the group played a nine-song set that included ‘Can I Call You’, ‘Drowning’, ‘Sleepwalking’, ‘Kill Me Again’ and ‘Say Something Pretty’.Today (May 5), The WAEVE shared the latter cut as a standalone single. “Unplug the radio/ Unplug the TV/ Unplug the internet/ And while you’re there unplug me,” Coxon sings over a drum machine beat off the heels of electrifying guitar shreds.In the raw, defiant chorus, Coxon and Dougall declare in unison that they “wanna be out in the city” enjoying “something pretty” instead.

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall‘s new project The WAEVE have announced a second London show, due to high demand.The former Blur guitarist-turned-solo star and the former Pipettes member-turned-Mark Ronson collaborator previously shared details of an intimate launch show at The Lexington set for May 4.Following that gig selling out, The WAEVE have shared that they’ll be playing on May 6 as well. The new date will follow the release of their single ‘Something Pretty’ which is set to drop on May 5 via Transgressive Records.

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall have teamed up to form the new project The WAEVE – announcing details of their first track and an intimate London launch show. Check out all the details exclusively on NME first below.On May 5, the former Blur guitarist-turned-solo star and the former Pipettes member-turned-Mark Ronson collaborator and singer-songwriter will share first taste of their material ‘Something Pretty’ via Transgressive Records.Ahead of that, they’ll be playing a special launch show at The Lexington in London on May 4.

Record Store Day 2022, including records from the likes of Blur, Taylor Swift, Elvis, Bring Me The Horizon, Pinkpanthress, Sam Fender, Blondie and many more. Check out the full list below.Returning for the 15th time on April 23, RSD will see hundreds of vinyl, CD and cassette releases sold exclusively through independent record shops – with over 260 stores from every corner of the UK and thousands around the world taking part in the celebrations.This comes after the Entertainment Retailers Association’s recent report that showed that vinyl sales in the UK are at their highest level in over 30 years, growing a further 23 per cent year on year in 2021.Mina Koroma, store manager at Liverpool’s Jacaranda Records, said: “We can’t wait to see Record Store Day back in full force at Jacaranda Records.

Tim Burgess has announced that he’ll be hosting a special 25th anniversary listening party tonight (February 10) for Blur‘s self-titled 1997 album.The Charlatans’ frontman has been hosting listening parties for a multitude of albums on Twitter since the UK went into its first coronavirus lockdown back in early 2020.This afternoon he announced that Blur members Alex James and Dave Rowntree, as well as producer Stephen Street will be joining him and his followers tonight for a listening party to celebrate the band’s fifth album turning 25.‘Blur’ was originally released on February 10, 1997, and featured the singles ‘Beetlebum’, ‘On Your Own’, ‘M.O.R.’, and the iconic anthem ‘Song 2’.

Graham Coxon has spoken about Blur‘s various reunions since their initial 2003 split, and says that the band will “always be capable” of reforming.Speaking on the Rockonteurs podcast, Coxon discussed the freedom he felt during the band’s first return in 2009, that included a headline performance at Glastonbury.“It was great because i played [the songs] in a completely different way, I felt more grateful for the situation,” he said. ” I became a little more grateful for what we’d always had.“I reckon a lot of bands would get that if they had a chance to do that again.

Blur‘s Food Records labelmates Jesus Jones have invited the Britpop heroes to reunite in tribute to the late label head Andy Ross.Ross, known for signing Blur as well as Idlewild, Dubstar and more, died this week at the age of 66, it was confirmed to NME by a close friend and collaborator.“We’re heartbroken at the loss of Andy Ross, one half of the mighty Food Records,” Jesus Jones wrote on Twitter. “Without him, we’d have never been able to do what we did.

Blur, Idlewild, Dubstar, Jesus Jones and more, was confirmed to NME by a close friend and collaborator. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.Tributes for Ross have started to pour in on social media, including one from Jesus Jones. “We’re heartbroken at the loss of Andy Ross, one half of the mighty Food Records,” the band wrote on Twitter.

Damon Albarn delivered a moving rendition of ‘Royal Morning Blue’ on US TV yesterday – check out the video below.The Blur and Gorillaz frontman featured as the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night (January 20) in support of his 2021 solo album, ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’.Appearing live in the studio, Albarn performed the record’s ‘Royal Morning Blue’ on a piano in front of a changing, natural landscape backdrop. The musician was accompanied by a string quartet.“At the end of the world/ Stay by my side/ At the end of the world/ Stay by my side/ Royal morning blue,” Albarn sang in the gentle outro to the song before the stage faded into darkness.You can watch the performance here:Meanwhile, Albarn is due to showcase ‘The Nearer The Fountain…’ at an intimate show in London next month.

Damon Albarn showcased a host of new tracks from his solo album alongside Blur classics in Coventry last night (December 7) during his UK tour.The frontman performed a selection of cuts from ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’ at the HMV Empire including the title track, ‘The Cormorant’ and ‘Royal Morning Blue’, footage of which you can view below.He then went on to play a host of Blur classics such as ‘Beetlebum’, ‘For Tomorrow’, ‘Tender’ and ‘Girls & Boys’ before wrapping up with ‘The Universal’.

Blur‘s Dave Rowntree has signed a deal with indie label Cooking Vinyl to release his debut solo album.As well as enjoying success as Blur’s drummer since 1988, Rowntree has more recently been working on music for film and TV. His compositions have appeared in titles such as the Bros documentary After The Screaming Stops, BBC series The Capture and Netflix’s The One.

Damon Albarn delivered a live performance of ‘Darkness To Light’ on US TV last night – you can watch the video below.The Blur and Gorillaz frontman appeared as the musical guest on yesterday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (November 12) in support of his new solo album, ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’.Filmed in black-and-white, the moody clip sees Albarn perform under a spotlight in a large studio space alongside his band. The musicians pre-recorded the clip in another location, rather than appearing live at the New York City set as is customary.Tune in here:Earlier this week, Albarn played a special piano-led set for BBC Radio 2.

Damon Albarn delivered a piano-led cover of The Human League‘s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ during a BBC live session last night (November 10).The Blur and Gorillaz frontman performed a special ‘Sofa Session’ on Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show in support of his new solo album, ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’, which arrives tomorrow (November 12).“I love The Human League,” Albarn explained of his decision to take on the 1981 classic. “Although, a disclaimer: when it should go really high I don’t because I don’t have the range.”Elsewhere, Albarn offered up a stripped-back rendition of Blur’s ‘Beetlebum’.

Duran Duran have discussed working with Blur‘s Graham Coxon on their new album, saying he “fitted into the band like a glove.”The band are set to release ‘Future Past’ on October 22, which sees Coxon working with the band alongside the likes of long-time David Bowie pianist Mike Garson and guest vocalist Lykke Li.Speaking to the Evening Standard about working with the Blur guitarist, Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes said it felt “like he’d been there forever.”“We’re super excited about releasing the album. It’s been a while in the making, but it was fabulous working with Graham Coxon,” he added.

Graham Coxon has spoken to NME about the sci-fi world of the comic and soundtrack ‘Superstate’ – as well as what the future might have in store for Blur.

Blur bassist Alex James has reflected on 30 years of their album ‘Leisure’, saying the band were “very bratty, very arrogant, very drunk” at the time.Speaking to Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus for his After School Radio show on Apple Music, James looked back at the Britpop stars’ 1991 album.“A lot of those songs that we wrote on ‘Leisure’, we were still at college,” James told Hoppus. “The really uncanny thing with Blur was not just that Graham [Coxon] was the very first person I saw when I arrived in London to go to college.

Damon Albarn has been announced as a special guest performer at Latitude Festival later this month.The Henham Park festival returns July 22-25, with Albarn scheduled to deliver a Saturday evening (July 24) sunset performance on the Latitude Waterfront Stage.The announcement comes after it was confirmed last month that Latitude Festival will go ahead at full capacity at the end of July as part of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP).35,000 Latitude fans will head to Suffolk for headline sets from Wolf Alice, The Chemical Brothers, Bastille and Bombay Bicycle Club.Data from the first stage of the ERP was published recently and confirmed that just 28 people who attended pilot events researching the impact of large-scale gatherings

Duran Duran joined forces with Graham Coxon last night (May 23) to perform their new single ‘Invisible’ at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.Performing remotely from London, the new wave icons were joined by the Blur guitarist as they tore through the new track, which is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Future Past’.In a nod to their past, the group then performed fan favourites ‘Notorious’ and ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’.

Blur and Duran Duran manager Craig Duffy and his partner Sue Parmiter, who have died in a car crash.Their deaths were confirmed by Duran Duran’s former publicist Gerard Franklin, who led the tributes, telling Devon Live: “Craig was without question one of the best tour managers in the music business.“He was a gentleman, caring and considerate and the ultimate professional. He was great fun to be around with on tour a real joy.